​Bryson DeChambeau is still chasing his first major cut of the season at Royal Birkdale, while Brooks Koepka hopes to build on a T-6 finish the last time the Open was played at this storied course. Despite missing the cut at Shinnecock last month, Koepka has shown stronger major results than his former LIV Golf rival, largely thanks to a T-12 at Augusta in April. Yet neither man is perched as a flashy favorite to win and lift the claret jug next week.
Of course, there are always opposing opinions in the world of golf, and that’s exactly why oddsmakers exist. So let’s look at where Bryson and Brooks stand relative to the early favorites for this year’s final major, with Scottie Scheffler aiming to defend his title and reassert himself after missing his first cut in four years at the Scottish Open.
Here are the early odds:
Scottie Scheffler +590
Rory McIlroy +750
Jon Rahm +1550
Xander Schauffele +2100
Tommy Fleetwood +2100
Matt Fitzpatrick +2100
Cameron Young +2800
Chris Gotterup +2800
Ludvig Åberg +3100
Collin Morikawa +3100
Tyrrell Hatton +3700
Wyndham Clark +4200
Sam Burns +4200
Robert MacIntyre +4200
Bryson DeChambeau +4300
Viktor Hovland +4400
Justin Rose +4700
Joaquin Niemann +5200
Brooks Koepka +5200
Justin Thomas +5400
Notably, Koepka opened tied for the 19th-lowest odds, alongside Alex Fitzpatrick. It’s not far-fetched to think the younger Fitzpatrick would be in line with Koepka—Fitzpatrick has an edge playing in the U.K. and has been the stronger player so far in 2026. Still, Koepka is a five-time major winner with a T-6 on this course. If there’s any consolation for bettors, early money was sparse on Fitzpatrick, whose odds moved into the triple digits while Koepka’s stayed level in future markets.
Wyndham Clark opened at +12500 earlier in the year and slipped to +10000 around the time he challenged at the U.S. Open last month. His number has continued to fall in the weeks since, helped further by a T-5 at the Travelers Championship. Clark isn’t the most logical winner pick here—not because the value has vanished, but because his final round at Shinnecock left many open questions that a back-to-back major title would require him to answer.
Bryson DeChambeau is now viewed by oddsmakers as less of a worry than he was entering Shinnecock, when bookmakers had him as the third favorite at +1000 behind Scheffler and McIlroy. Much like that event, where he fell from grace in futures markets, Bryson has dropped again ahead of Royal Birkdale. He moved from +2800 earlier in the week to +4300, now sitting just ahead of 2026 PGA Tour winners Justin Rose and Viktor Hovland.